Effort
by XFatalities-of-the-sane-mindsX
Summary: Slade/Terra oneshot I made as a request from my friend, TheOneWhoSupportsCrackShippi ng. Ages messed around with, set a bit in the future. T to be safe.


**(I'm here with another request from my friend Jojo (****TheOneWhoSupportsCrackShippi ng****,) once again stepping out of my comfort zone for one of her well loved pairings, Slade and Terra. Since I am a comic book geek, I know how old Slade is, and due to that, he will not correspond with his comic book counterpart's age, as well as Terra being aged up a bit, although this is set a little in the future. Why am I fucking with their characters? Because I, no offense, would feel awkward writing a 50 something year old with a 14 (give or take) year old. Although in the comics Terra was a bit older and they did have a psychotic relationship where he used her and she loved him for it. Back to cartoon-iverse Teen Titans, I changed some things. Otherwise, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Fatalities does not own TT.**

**Hope you like it, Jojo! And others, I love you guys too.)**

Terra sat on her worn down, steel framed bed, hearing the creaking and still loving the annoying sound. She had been brought back to life by the same person who indirectly caused her demise. That person was none other than Slade himself. It had been years since he had put her in that private school, she was now back at his always changing hideouts, training as she would forever. Why did she come back? Because she knew she always would. There was no choice behind it. A twenty year old woman and she would follow this man like a lost puppy. She supposed she was though.

She tugged anxiously at the wrappings that covered most of her. He would be coming back soon. It was almost time for another training session. She slumped back down onto her sorry excuse of a bed that she had come to find comfort in. She found herself bored staring at cement walls and ceilings, and knew that going outside her room would find her no other interest besides the butler, Wintergreen, and while he was great at his job, he could be such a bore.

The lonely geomancer looked at the stainless steel door, waiting. He would soon be behind that door, he would soon open that door. He would soon give her another round of bruises too numerous to count, although that was not one of the things she anticipated. It was payment for spending time with him, and eventually she would be good enough to not get hurt in his presence. Then it could work out much better. Terra heard the handle on the door being turned and saw it open.

"Have you been waiting here since our last training session?" He asked in his smooth, calculating voice.

"Is there anything else to do besides train more?" Terra asked. It had come to the point where a little back talk was accepted with a weary headshake.

"I'm sure you could find better use of your free time. Come, I will not tolerate stalling." Terra got up and followed Slade out of the concrete room, walking down the cold halls until they got to the largest space in the building. Set up everywhere were punching bags filled with even more concrete and lined with Kevlar, treadmills that could be set up to sixty miles per hour, obstacle courses galore, on the other side was a glass wall that encased the simulation area. She would be spending hours going through each. She went through the usual routines, trying her best as Slade criticized, telling her she wasn't good enough. She needed that. She's push harder each time, just trying to please him. The training was hard work, but the worst was always at the end. Sparring, especially with someone like Slade, was pure torture in Terra's mind. He was the master of martial arts, and despite the years, she was still considered awkward and clumsy next to him. When she saw him shut off the simulation, she knew it was going to get rough. He called her out of the chamber and over to the sparring area, just really a reserved spot in the corner with thin mats filled with sensors stretched over the floor. The first time she had sparred with him, she had lasted 1.4 seconds (as he noted.) She was quite fulfilled that she could last up to fifteen now. Not being able to use her powers during the physical training sessions didn't help her. Slade waited for her to prepare herself.

"Go." In a second, she felt a sharp pain come to her side from his lightning attack. She ignored it and sent her own flurry of attacks, a few hitting but not doing damage while new bruises piled on top of old ones across her covered skin. Every blow she managed to block nearly shattered her arms, while every blow that landed was a steamroller. She fell back onto the mat with a loud thump after a metal encased fist finally broke through her will. A monitor on the wall declared 14.2 seconds. "Up. You failed." Terra got up once again and got back into her stance, trying to ignore the shame. "Go." This time she managed to endure a few punches and slip under his kick before send a punch to his back that did little more than put her arm in range for him to grab. He flipped her over his head and sent her sprawling on the mat once more. 13.8 seconds. "Better idea, bad execution." She nodded and got up again, deciding that today she would simply work on dodging the attacks as long as possible. "Go." She sloppily back flipped away from his punch and swept to the side to avoid the other, then had to bear a full round of hits that she couldn't escape, but was knocked off her feet, her back once again hitting the mat. 15.7 seconds. A tear leaked out upon impact, sliding down a bruised cheek. She wiped it away in frustration and got up again. Slade silently noted that was a better reaction than her usual. She was in stance once again. He signaled the start like a broken record once more and sent a leg out to sweep her feet out from under her once again, and was happily surprised when she jumped over it and sent her own attack. He caught her fist in his hand, rendering that arm useless in his iron grip as she sent a desperate punch for his mask. Slade's eyes widened in shock, captivated by the look of rage on her face and the headshot that was an inch away, before he felt the impact of her now glowing hand. She hand had gained the density of stone, cracking his mask with the startling move. She had just stepped off the normal path, and she knew it. He realized she had been giving more attitude lately, but he didn't think she would… disobey him like that. Half of his mask fell and was quickly scooped up and held back in place. Terra fully realized what she had done and stumbled back, afraid of his retribution, but it never came. He turned away from her.

"You are dismissed." He didn't move, seeming to be contemplating something. Terra back away before running out of the room and through the halls, locking herself in her room. What had she done? She hadn't meant too… She was angry… frustrated… irritated at her own lack of progress. Did that give her an excuse to put all that force into a headshot against the man who cared for her? He may have imposed some conditions but he did not deserve that from her. He had trained her, put hours in every day just to help her improve, and she turns her anger to him. She tore off her uniform, instead putting on an old t-shirt and shorts she usually reserved for sleeping before collapsing on her bed. More tears leaked out, now not only from what she had just done, but from seeing all the bruises littered across her skin and scrapes from when a sharp edge of his metal gloves or boots hit at the right angle. After a while of sitting on her bed and crying, she heard a knock at the door, an unusual sound. If Slade wanted to see her, he came in. When she didn't answer, she faintly heard the beeping of the pass code being entered and the door opened. She buried her head in her hands and waited.

"I'm sorry, Slade, I didn't mean to…" She mumbled. She heard steel boots clamping against the ground. The bed was weighted down, the heavily armored man sitting next to her.

"You make me very proud, Terra." Her eyes opened in shock and she looked up at him. His mask was fixed, not a visible fracture anywhere. He was looking solely at her.

"I… What? But I disobeyed you… I could have really hurt you…" She knew that last part was a lie, she couldn't hurt Slade even without his armor, but it expressed well enough what she felt. He caught that too and chuckled at the naivety of the idea.

"You put all your effort into a single hit. That's what I've wanted to see in everything you do. Just that much effort."

"So… You aren't mad at me?" Terra asked.

"No, I'm not." He pulled out some gauze and bandages and handed them to her. "You might want to get those injuries taken care of." He got up and slowly walked over to the door. "Training will be postponed for a day… I love you, Terra." He closed the door behind him.

"Love you too, Slade… Love you too…"

**(Not too satisfied with it, but I suppose it will have to do since I said I would get this written today XD Feel free to tell me what you think, I love feedback!**

**Fatalities is officially offline.)**


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